Bolivar
Date unknown
Medium
Steel engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 13.3 × 10.1 cm (5 1/4 × 4 in.); Sheet: 27.2 × 18 cm (10 3/4 × 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
reproduction
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
274301
Art Historical Context
Step into the Prints and Drawings gallery to discover *Bolivar*, a striking steel engraving by William Holl, I. This intimate portrait, measuring just 13.3 × 10.1 cm in its image area, likely depicts Simón Bolívar the revered liberator of South America who led independence movements against Spanish colonial rule in the early 19th century. As a reproduction print on paper, it captures Bolívar's dignified visage with remarkable precision, making history accessible beyond the elite. William Holl, I (1771–1838), a prominent British engraver, mastered steel engraving—a 19th-century innovation that...